Andy's Take: Talking season is finally over for high school football

It has been 235 days since the last meaningful high school football game was played on the mainland. That’s 33 weeks and four days. More than 5,600 hours. A staggering 20,304,000 seconds.

The clock on talking season stops today.

Finally high school football, which officially started last week in Hawaiian, is getting underway in earnest with Alaska, Florida (kind of), Georgia, Nevada and Utah entering the fray this week.

Six states in total will be in action this week as the game we love returns. Fans in communities from across the country, East Coast to the Hawaiian Islands, will gather for high school football.

We’ve written more than 250 stories over the last six weeks – lists, predictions, rankings, an All-American team – that touched on nearly every state in the country. And that’s just a drop in the bucket when you think about the thousands of teams and players competing in high school football every year.

I’m excited to travel the country this fall and check in on some of the nation’s top football programs, most intriguing matchups and first-class events put together by great organizers. Georgia is up first and, boy, does the Peach State have an exciting slate of contests this weekend.

Milton at Buford on Thursday night will be nationally-televised but, if you can, do yourself a favor and watch that game in-person. Nothing beats the feeling of being at a high school football game on a Friday night.

The NFL and, increasingly, college football games are professional affairs where you are treated more like a consumer than a fan. You don’t miss anything by watching those games on television – you’re going to be served commercials during game breaks either way.

That isn’t the case on the high school level.

I encourage you to experience for yourself the football-crazed Florida panhandle town of Niceville, where having “just” 8,000 fans in the stands seems like a slight letdown. Check out South Georgia’s storied Winnersville Classic between Lowndes–Valdosta, with hundreds of fans pregaming right up until kickoff. Head to West Texas and take in Friday Night Lights for yourself.

Programs like Mater Dei (Calif.), Duncanville (Texas), Hoover (Ala.), IMG Academy (Fla.), St. John Bosco (Calif.) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) have become household names in the sport, and for good reason, but our goal at Rivals is to make sure others get recognized as well.

I visited New England recently. Technically, I was on vacation. But I couldn’t help but stop by several high schools during my trip. I visited New York’s Sleepy Hollow, home of the Headless Horseman mascot. I took a couple of laps around the track at South Burlington in Vermont, where locals gather to get some morning exercise. The brand new artificial turf at Rice Memorial was worth seeing in person – and I, of course, heeded the sign that asked visitors to remain off the field. Finally, I dropped by Falmouth in Maine and visited with with head coach Spencer Emerson and some of his players as they prepared for the upcoming 2025 campaign.

It was a great vacation.

Though those teams may not have any nationally-televised high school football games like Milton and Buford tomorrow, they and thousands like them all have their own Friday night spirit that lives on game to game, season to season. This 2025 campaign opens up a fresh new chapter for all.

Talking season is over. Let’s rock.